art

I met Denise Cortes of PearMama.com on a media trip a couple years ago and have been following her work ever since. She’s not only a beautiful and vulnerable writer (and person!), but she’s also an amazingly talented artist.

Her colorful paintings brighten my IG feed, and when I saw this one when she first shared it I insisted she let me know when it would be available for sale so I could tell all of you. It’s finally available in her Etsy shop, just in time for World Breastfeeding Week/Month!

I asked Denise a few questions about her art and motherhood and breastfeeding in honor of World Breastfeeding Week. Here’s what she generously shared:

You have 6 children, right? Did you breastfeed any/all of them? What were your own breastfeeding relationships like with them? Did it vary from baby to baby?

I go into it a little on my most recent blog post but yes, I breastfed all six of my children. With my first baby, I didn’t really know anything and didn’t have a support system in place so we stopped around 3 months. With my other five children, I was obsessed with the idea of fully breastfeeding. I just felt like it was so important for their growth and our health. The bonding aspect was a big deal to me as well — I really wanted that relationship with my babies. Sadly, I struggled with low milk production after each of my subsequent five births. I did it all: nursing on demand, I pumped, I took fenugreek pills, I drank copious amounts of Mother’s Milk tea (one whiff of licorice these days and my stomach turns) and used an SNS (supplemental nursing system) filled with a little bit of formula. I even rented a scale so I could make sure they were gaining enough weight. It worked. I was able to maintain a breastfeeding relationship with all of my babies and they were able to grow and thrive. The longest I breastfed was around 18 months.

What inspired you to paint this?

My inspiration was my own mother. She did not breastfeed her four children because it “just wasn’t something women did any more”. She was discouraged from breastfeeding and it always made me so sad. Her healing came when my sister and I began having babies. She watched us breastfeed, she encouraged me to keep trying even after one of my babies was diagnosed as failure to thrive and she was so happy to witness the bond we had with our babies as they nursed and that was so rewarding to me.

You are an experienced mom who has raised babies into teens and young adults now, so what wisdom would you pass onto a first time expecting mom, especially as it relates to feeding their baby?

The time you will spend breastfeeding your baby is so brief — enjoy it. Consider it a moment in your life when you have permission to slow down and really enjoy motherhood. There were moments I just wanted a break, when I wanted that particular stage to quickly pass us by, when I wanted some freedom and some space for my body! I mean, we all do. That doesn’t mean you’re a terrible mom. But looking back, I’d give anything to be able to lay chest to chest with my baby again. What a really, really special time in a mother’s life.

We’re only a couple weeks into the school year, and Kendall’s pre-k artwork is already starting to pile up. So, today I made myself finish a project I’ve been envisioning for a long while.

It was silly easy to make, and I used some items we already had, like scrap wood leftover from our sub-floor install and a half-full can of chalkboard paint.

The full list of what you’ll need is:

Wood (Dimensions are up to you. Try to re-use or upcycle some!)Chalkboard paint & painting supplies(cheap foam brush and an old sheet should work)Binder clips(I got ours at Office Depot where they have quite a few bright, fun colors. Get enough to put one clip every 6 inches on the length of the board(s) you’re cutting.)Gorilla Glue Fast Cure (Got ours at Lowes)YardstickBlack Sharpie Chalk

1. Paint your piece of wood with the chalkboard paint. It will probably take 2 -3 thin coats, depending on if you primed or not.

2. Let the board dry, then lay out your supplies and grab a wet (but not soaking) rag. Per the Gorilla Glue instructions, you’ll have to use this to dampen the board and the back of the binder clip before applying the glue and adhering.

3. Using the yardstick as your guide, place your binder clips every 6 inches (meaning you line the left side of each clip up on the inch marker that is 6 inches from the left side of the last clip).

Note: I started 2 inches in and my last clip is 2 inches from the edge. The 6 inch distance between them allows you to hang one piece of paper vertically with just one or horizontally with 2. Play around and get them exactly how you want them.

4. Follow the directions on the Gorilla Glue to adhere the binder clips where you placed them. Keep using the yardstick as your guide so you can keep them all level.

5. You’ll see the directions of the Gorilla Glue tell you to clamp them down, but I couldn’t really figure out how to do this. Instead, I just took my time and held down each one for about 3-4 minutes before moving on to the next.

6. Be sure you don’t apply too much glue. It really only takes a little applied to the back (especially the raised surfaces) of the binder clip. The glue expands like a foam and dries white. If after it dries you find that the glue around the edges is noticeable, go back and color over it with a black Sharpie. Much easier and less messy than painting over it, and nobody’s going to be able to tell from a distance. I also used the Sharpie to color over the screw heads that we used to drill it into the wall.

7. Hang it up and then get creative with what you want to write on it. For now, both of these boards are for “Kendall’s Creations,” but as Leyna gets older and starts coloring, I’ll probably designate one board for each kid. The best part is all I have to do is wipe off the chalk and re-name it! I’m even thinking of changing it up and writing this quote on them:

Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them. – Richard L. Evans

Hard to have a case of the Mondays when I get to post this lovely giveaway for you all from my friends at ModTots. If their work seems familiar to you, it’s because ModTots is the newest branch of Modern Bird Studios, offering the hippest, happiest, coolest ART for the younger crowd. This ain’t your granny’s cross stitch, folks.

These two robots now grace the wall next to Kendall’s bedroom door, overlooking his planet mural and his rocket ship tent. I love his room. It’s perfect for a little boy’s imagination, and now he gets two robot friends to talk to. Last night I had to tell them goodnight and turn them off. “BeBoop,” I said as I pushed each one’s imaginary button.

There are three lines of ModTots art so far; Animals, Robots and Monsters. Dinosaurs are also coming soon. They start at 6×6″ (that’s the size our robots are), and you can choose from about 20 colors to customize the background.

Each ModTots design starts as an original illustration by artist, Gregg Deal, and is created with a combination of digital, hand, and painting processes on an Oak composite. Each piece is handmade, one at a time, with love and consideration going into every one.

Another fun thing to note is the first person to buy each animal, robot, monster, etc. gets naming rights and the fun of coming up with a few sentences to describe them. If you have a blog, they’ll even link back to you on the description page (like the fox my friend BethAnne got to name). How cool is that?

ModTots just launched at the beginning of 2011, and already they’ve been featured on Babble and ohdeedoh. These pieces will be popping up in all the coolest kid’s rooms, playrooms and nurseries before you know it, and you can be one of the first to bring them into your home (what a trendsetter you will be). The winner of this giveaway gets $100 credit for any ModTots piece(s)!

How to enter:

Tell me which piece is your favorite and why. Do you have a personal, deep connection with raccoons? Do you lovingly refer to your toddler as a monster?
Follow @Mod-Tots on Twitter
Like Mod-Tots on Facebook
Follow @BabyRabies on Twitter
Like BabyRabies on Facebook

Please leave a separate comment for each one you do. No need to do all of them, but you must do the first for the others to count. I moderate comments, so please be patient if yours doesn’t show up right away. Check back in a few hours.

Contest is open to US and Canada. Previous winners are not eligible.

Entries close Monday, March 7th. I’ll use Random.org to draw a winner.

ALSO, even if you don’t win, you can still get 10% off through March 14th with the code BABYRABIES.

**Disclosure- ModTots sent these 2 handsome robots to us to review at no cost to me.

Entries are closed. The winner, according to Random.org, is commenter #228, Kiki_Dawn!

Every now and then, through these great mediums we call social media, I make a really, truly wonderful connection with a blogger, a reader, and occasionally a company. I call so many of these small business owners and entrepreneurs “friends” now, and I’m excited to introduce you all to Megan and Gregg, my friend and her amazingly talented husband who is the artistic master behind Modern Bird Studios.

Megan reached out to me on Twitter just a few weeks ago. I took a quick moment to check out the link in her bio, and was blown away by the art featured on their website. I said to myself that I would LOVE to have something like that for our house someday. I loved their style. They turn nearly any photograph into a modern, simple piece of art. I was honored when they offered to send me a custom piece for review, and even more thrilled when they said they want to give one away to one of my readers.

Over the next few weeks, countless emails flew back and forth, and I had the chance to really get to know Megan and all about her family. Not unlike so many of us, they have been affected by the recession- Gregg lost his job. Not ones to sit and sulk, they turned their misfortune into inspiration, and a swift kick to get Modern Bird Studios up and running. In Megan’s words, “The economy sucker punched us about 5 months ago, and we are trying to retaliate with a bitch slap and two big, fat middle fingers.” You can read more about Gregg and their business here.

What I can tell you all for certain, over just the small amount of time I’ve known them, is they are incredibly kind and soulful. At first glance, their art may look like something you might be able to reproduce on your own with some creative Photoshop skills, an inexpensive print studio and a piece of canvas, but look deeper. I will tell you this is ART with a soul. This comes from someone’s dreams and desires, hard work and sweat. It’s quality. It’s painted on maple/birch composite, not canvas. It’s sturdy, and there’s no need to frame it. It will be around 20 years from now. You’ll have to note in your will who gets the piece when you die. Gregg even signs the back!

They can work with any picture taken with lots of natural light, which means you don’t have to submit anything taken professionally. In fact, I love how they can take any “ordinary” picture and make it so artistic.

After much hemming and hawing and annoying the shit out of Scott, we (well, I… of course, *I* had the final and basically only say) decided on the colors and the picture. There are SO MANY color options! Really, the possibilities seem endless (I’m sure they actually do have an end, but math major I am not). We decided to keep it pretty neutral with gray and black. It goes great with the color of our walls now, and I can see it matching at least some part of our house for many years to come. For the picture, I submitted one of my absolute favorites of my chubby cheeked little man. He was maybe 3 or 4 months old, I think? I just love, love, love this one.

Megan and Gregg sent me a digital proof within a day, and about a week later I received this beauty. (Their usual processing time is about 2 weeks, including shipping, but may be longer due to volume. If that’s the case, they will let you know.)

Are you done Ooohing and Awwwing yet? It’s 12×24 and seriously freaking amazing. The craftsmanship is superb, and yet I love that it has a bit of a rustic, handmade feel, telling you it’s got SOUL.

I had the best of intentions to have it beautifully hung on the wall in our work and play room, but unfortunately Scott had to go out of town for the weekend, and I haven’t had the courage to try to hang it myself. Here it is sitting directly below where I think I want to hang it, just to give you some perspective. It will be the first thing people see when they walk in. O hai!

This size piece sells for $280, and they have several other sizes starting at $165 for a 6×12, up to $620 for a 46×46. Yes, I know this is not your everyday purchase. It’s certainly not an impulse buy for many, and something that much thinking and saving up for is needed. That being said, consider the following:

This is not just for baby pictures. It’s not even just for people pictures. They can do pets, skylines, or your favorite snapshot of the mountain range you grew up seeing out your bedroom window.

This is an investment piece of ART that you happen to be able to customize.

The just launched the first of many predesigned series “Bloom”, giving you the same quality art at a lower price (not customizable).

Also, you can get 15% off your purchase with the code “BABY RABIES” until February 26th! (This includes the predesigned Bloom Series.)

Now for the really fun part, the giveaway!

Modern Bird Studios is giving one 12×12 piece to a lucky winner who will be randomly chosen on Tuesday, February 23rd by Random.org. To enter, please do one, a few, or all of the following.

THIS IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE ENTER ONE COMMENT FOR EACH THING YOU DO. Also, please understand that I moderate comments and it may take a while for your comment to show up. Before submitting a duplicate, please wait a couple hours and see if your first shows up. This makes it easier for me to operate this in the fairest manner possible.

1. Comment telling me what color combination you like the best based on their color chart. (You will not be held to this if you win.)